Long Memorial United Methodist Church

Completed in: Neffsville, PA

Members of the church wanted the sanctuary air conditioned. Over the course of two years, the scope of the project expanded from air conditioning the sanctuary to air conditioning the rest of the church as well.

The Long Memorial United Methodist Church contains: a sanctuary, a social room, several high school religious education rooms, an adult religious education room, and a class room addition. By installing a four-pipe system, the church could achieve more efficient temperature control and a higher level of comfort and energy efficiency.

About the Facility
The Long Memorial United Methodist Church contains a sanctuary, a social room, several high school religious education rooms, an adult religious education room, and a class room addition. Members of the church wanted their sanctuary air conditioned. Over the course of two years, the scope of work expanded from air conditioning just the sanctuary to air conditioning the entire church. Initially, multiple split systems and packaged rooftop units were proposed. After the church approved and funded the project, all parties agreed to move forward with a four-pipe system instead. This would allow for more efficient temperature control and a higher level of energy efficiency.

HVAC
When designing and building the HVAC system for the church, we submitted and received approval for project drawings from Manheim Township. We met with the township prior to submitting the project to review our design approach and receive verbal comments that would be incorporated into the project. As a result, the formal review process received few comments and none that required redesign, which meant we could get to work more quickly.

We were able to re-use the boiler and most of the hot water piping. The main focus of the project was to air condition the sanctuary, which needed to be done with minimal disturbance to the appearance of the sanctuary. To ensure maximum results with minimal effect on aesthetic, we installed the air handling unit in a storage loft and ducted to the adjacent sanctuary. By installing only two supply registers, two ceiling diffusers, and two return registers in the sanctuary, we were able to achieve minimal visual impact.

For the rest of the church, we removed the existing hot water base board in most of the rooms and replaced them with fan coil units. This move allowed for individual room temperature control, a feature that was not previously available.

Over the course of the project, we provided and installed:

A 30-ton air cooled condenser

A 30-ton evaporator chiller

Chilled water piping

An air handing unit for the sanctuary

24 four-pipe fan coil units

The construction occurred without affecting church activities or scheduled events. We coordinated areas of work, mobilization, and clean-up schedules to allow full usage of the church while construction was underway.

By choosing a four-pipe system, heating and conditioning systems were integrated in a way that would not have occurred with multiple packaged and split systems. Using the four-pipe approach allowed for individual room temperature control. This also reduced the level of maintenance that would be necessary and ensured that no equipment would need to be installed on the roof where access would have been difficult. With the higher level of temperature control, the church is able to operate only the areas that need to be heated or air conditioned, which results in significant energy savings.

Tasks Performed:

Provided HVAC design and coordinated approval of project and project drawings with the township.